Return 'flight' for missing courthouse eagle

The American eagle that crowned the dome of the Tuscarawas County Courthouse in New Philadelphia has been missing from view since October 2008. Although not yet restored to its lofty perch, the eagle has returned.

The American eagle that crowned the dome of the Tuscarawas County Courthouse in New Philadelphia has been missing from view since October 2008. Although not yet restored to its lofty perch, the eagle has returned.

Recently retired New Philadelphia Police Chief Jeff Urban and current Chief Mike Goodwin recovered the ornament Wednesday. However, details of its flight will largely remain a mystery and no charges are expected.

Urban said that both officers had investigated the disappearance.

“Not long afterward, we heard from a third individual, who said he knew where it was and he would try to get the guy who took it to give it back,” Urban said.

Because the original man “had trust issues,” the return dragged out, Urban explained.

Finally, on Wednesday the intermediary drove into the driveway of Urban’s home.

Asking to remain anonymous, he said, ‘There’s something in the back of my truck,’ ” Urban said.

Although the eagle has a slightly bent left wing — apparently from having been dropped at some point — “overall, it’s in pretty good shape,” Urban said.

The eagle and dome cupola had been in place since being installed in 1973 by helicopter.

The eagle was reported missing Oct. 14, 2006, when a county resident notified commissioners. A maintenance employee put a small video recorder on the end of a long pole and viewed the empty perch. It showed a jagged edge on a pipe sticking out above the cupola.

As a result, many people thought that the ornament had blown off, and someone picked it up.

Goodwin said the officers were told that the eagle was stolen from its perch, and apparently the man was intoxicated at the time. That makes it even more incredible, because the top of the top of the dome is about 125 feet above the ground.

“It’s a piece of history for the county and we wanted to get it back,” Urban said. “There’s no real indication of why he took it. I believe he did it just to do it. If he had taken it for scrap, it’d have scrapped it by now. I think once he got it, he didn’t know what to do with it.”

The ornament measures 32 inches from the rod through a ball at the base to the tip of a lightning rod extension. The eagle itself is about 16 inches high, with a wingspan of 44 inches. Primarily made of copper, the hollow ornament weighs 14 pounds.

Goodwin and Urban turned over the ornament to county commissioners on Thursday.

“I was on a conference call when they opened my door and I couldn’t believe it,” county Commissioner Chris Abbuhl said of seeing the eagle. “Most of us thought that we’d never see it again — that it had been melted down or sold for scrap.”

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Abbuhl said commissioners plan to get the eagle refurbished and restored to its perch.

“It’s tarnished, and the wing and a few other parts need to be repaired, but I think it should look fine,” he said. “We’ll look into that. We welcome suggestions, and maybe a restoration company will donate their services.